A Bit of Backstory

Attorney Justin Betance had no time to waste when he started his practice. He’s a busy father with four kids who coaches soccer and teaches martial arts in his spare time. Plus, he hits the gym every day.

So when Justin opened his own firm, he knew he needed practice management software that would keep pace with his busy life. Without MyCase, he says, “I wouldn’t be able to do any of those things!”

When you decided to open a solo firm, what made you start looking for practice management software?

I had a couple of options for practice management. One of them was to rebuild a case management system from scratch. I knew that process would be a monumental undertaking as I was building my practice and trying to raise a family. It just didn’t seem practical.

Then, I found MyCase. It already had everything I needed in one spot, it was easy to use, and it was inexpensive. It mimics what I would have built myself. I thought, “Why reinvent the wheel?”

How are you liking MyCase so far?

MyCase keeps me organized, not only from an administrative and accounting perspective, but also from a case perspective. I can’t overstate the importance of being able to upload documents to a singular source. It provides one place for my clients to be able to go to and upload documents I may need, as well.

If I need something sent to me, my clients feel safe going to MyCase and uploading documents securely as opposed to having to email sensitive documentation. Plus, with the client portal, they can also view and pay invoices.

“I don’t want to have to go to the bank and deposit a check. The lines are never short, so the fact that clients can pay online is a time saver.”

How do clients react to paying online?

It’s funny because it’s just something they expect to be able to do.

We are in the day of technology. Clients want things to be easy for them, whether it’s buying something online or retaining an attorney. They feel it should be simple for them.

I think that the sophistication of my practice, as viewed by my clients, would be damaged by not having the ability to accept online payments.

What makes the process of accepting payments with MyCase better than what other attorneys do?

A lot of other attorneys will send out invoices through email and wait for checks to come in. The other option is that they obtain credit card information in their office, which I feel is a dangerous thing to do. I don’t want anyone’s credit card information if I don’t have to have it. I’d rather not be responsible for transacting people’s money. To the extent that offline payments can be avoided, I try to avoid them. Overall, online payments are safer for both me and my clients.

Plus, I don’t want to have to go to the bank and deposit a check. The lines are never short, so the fact that clients can pay online is a time saver.

“I was able to offload the majority of the website building responsibility to the MyCase website team, which was a nice surprise.”

Why did you choose a MyCase website?

The most important factors were ease of use and the ability for clients to be able to log in to their portal through the website. And the price!

The idea of trying to put together a website myself was arduous. In the beginning stages of building a practice, I had to balance case work with getting my website up. But with my MyCase website, I was able to offload the majority of the website building responsibility to the MyCase website team. I utilized the content writing so I wouldn’t have to start from scratch. There were a few burdensome tasks that were off my plate right away, which was a very nice surprise.

You’re a busy guy. How do use MyCase on the go?

One of the most difficult things for an attorney is keeping track of your time. The more tools that I have available to do that and keep it centralized, the better. I use the mobile app to add time entries for calls that I’ve taken outside the office so I don’t miss a minute of billable time.